As concerns surrounding global warming and climate change continue to grow, consumers and textile manufacturers are making more of an effort to play their respective part in altering the negative impact textile industry processes can have on the environment. By reducing their carbon footprints and supporting more sustainable fabrics and practices, its a win-win for all!. Enter the sustainable magic of Crypton Green fabric
What Is Sustainable Fabric?
I remember holidays full of turkey, stuffing and apple pie. Generations around the table partaking in good food, tasty sweets and infectious laughter. Handmade napkins printed in holly dressed grandmama’s table that was draped in green poly crepe. In the room surrounding us, lights bounced off inanimate objects casting golden shadows on beige striped and cran-apple suede cushioned wing chairs while tie-backs in holiday splendor dangled on vanilla drapes. Assorted prints and textures added warmth and richness. And under the tree, Christmas gifts wrapped in traditional furoshiki styled fabrics of red tissue lame and festive plaid check.
After years of providing custom upholstering, elegant window treatments and beautiful home interior makeovers for customers, it’s easy for in-house fabric and design centers to accumulated their share of fabulous deco samples. From long-standing yet timeless home textile mills like Duralee, Robert Kaufman and Covington, to newer yet popular home deco designers like Vern Yip, Regal and Michael Miller, the array of fibers, colors, prints and designs that remain on hand long after the work orders are completed seem endless. And while these samples still serve as on-hand textiles to assist home project shoppers in bringing their vision into a more tangible reality, often times the patterns selected are discontinued by the mills and therefore remain on our shelves as appealing yet useless eye candy… seemingly. But to the creative seamstress, artisan or DIY craft connoisseur, these sample pieces ranging in size from 15″-20″ squares offer the perfect inspiration behind some seriously stylish and often funky D.I.Y craft creations.
Al Bundy had one in his garage where ‘No Ma’am’ meetings were held on the sitcom Married With Children. Doug Heffernan had one in his garage equipped with a big screen TV, beer fridge, and a couch where Doug and his friends watched football, baseball, boxing, and drank beer in peace away from his wife and father-in-law on the TV show The King of Queens. The ‘Man Cave’...a metaphor used to describe a male retreat space or sanctuary usually in the basement or attic of a house or in a specially equipped garage where women are banned and the fella’s call ‘home’. A space designated for guys to do as they please without fear of upsetting any female sensibilities of home decor. ‘The last bastion of masculinity,’ as described by Tufts University’s Paula Aymer where “No one is going to make you watch your p’s and q’s, ” according to writer Sam Martin. Whether all the above or just a room where a man can simply go and unwind from the day in his own undisturbed way, indulge in hobbies, play video games or watch tv with the ‘boys’, the ever cherished man cave varies in design and purpose revealing the most valued parts of each man and more. In Ode to man’s little piece of heaven here on Earth, the staff at J&O fabrics are sharing a few ‘man cave’ ideas and tips to help recreate them for yourself.
Determining how much fabric you need when embarking on a do-it-yourself drapery makeover project can be daunting when you start to consider the amount of fabric needed to cover all the pleats, gathers, folds and swags your dressing may require. But bringing your vision to life doesn’t have to cause a pause in your plans or errors in your fabric yardage purchase when you know the steps to taking accurate measurements beforehand.
If it’s your first time adorning your window frames, using solid or textured mid-weight and/or decorative fabrics is a good place to start as prints and sheers require extra consideration and handling to match the design and manage the slippage that often occurs with lightweight fabric.
With the camping and ‘road tripping’ season coming up soon, many RV owners around the country are upgrading their beloved houses on wheels, making destination plans, and mapping their scenic travel routes. From converted buses, pop-up campers and teardrop trailers, to hybrids, totter homes and 5th wheels, RV lovers are making their way to resort style campsites, rustic KOA’s and secluded destination locations across the USA in classic style.
